Have you ever watched a movie and saw a beautiful king or queen? What are some of the things you noticed about this person? Did this person wear fancy or plain clothes? What did their house look like? What kind of car did they drive? What about this person made you know that they were important or special? I want to tell you a story about a person who didn’t look like a king, but as you will find out, He was the most important king of all.
There once lived a woman named Mary and she was in love with a man named Joseph and they were going to get married. Before they could get married, an angel came down from heaven and told them that Mary was going to have a baby and His name would be Jesus. Jesus was going to be the King of all kings.
When it was time for Jesus to be born, Mary and Joseph took a trip to Bethlehem and looked for a room at an inn. (That’s almost like a hotel.) You see, back when Jesus was born, they didn’t have cars and Jesus’ dad couldn’t drive Jesus’ mom to the hospital, so Jesus was born in a stable where the donkeys and cows were kept. Mary wrapped up Jesus and placed Him in a manger. A manger is what animals ate hay out of.
Right after Jesus was born; another angel came down and appeared to some shepherds in a nearby field. The shepherds were taking care of the sheep. The angel told the shepherds that a baby had been born and that this child was important. He was Christ the Lord. The shepherds followed a star and when they found the baby, they were so excited that they had to tell everyone they knew. Have you ever seen something that had you so excited that you wanted to tell all your friends?
Well, as you probably guessed, not everyone who heard about this new baby was excited. Some people were confused and they wondered how a little baby could be a king. And if he was a king, why was he born in a stable and not in a fancy house? Where were his fancy clothes and all his fancy jewelry? These people did not understand that all that “stuff” does not make you a king. God made Jesus a King and that was all that mattered.
There was a man named Herod, who was really upset about this news. You see, Herod was a king and he did not like the idea of someone else saying he was the king. There can only be one king. Herod was angry and he wanted to kill Jesus because he was jealous. Have you ever been jealous? Have you ever seen something that someone else had and you wanted it really bad? Maybe your brother or sister has something you wish you could have. Sometimes it is hard to be happy for the person who has what you want.
Herod wanted to know more about Jesus so he asked three Magi (you may have heard them called wise men) to go and find Jesus and to come back and tell him more about them. The Magi did not know what Herod was planning on doing. They followed the star and found Jesus. They were so happy that they gave Him gifts and they worshipped Him. That night while the wise men were sleeping, they had a dream that Herod was going to do something bad to Jesus so they decided not to tell Herod where Jesus was. Herod never found Jesus and Jesus grew up as the unexpected King.
If you would like to hear more about Jesus, you can find this story and many more in your Bible. This particular story can be found in Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-18 and Luke 2:1-20. God Bless.